


Day #12: You Know I'm Coming Home, Untangle The Lights and We'll Set Up The Christmas Tree

by OJared



Series: The Christmas You Get You Deserve.  Destiel Ficmas. [17]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Dean comes Home, Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, Established Relationship, Ficmas, Ficmas Day #12, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Home for Christmas - Freeform, I don't even think it can be considered angst, It's a bit sad, Kid Fic, Leigh'verse, Married Couple, Not really though, Return, Soldier Dean, Soldier Dean Winchester, Worried Castiel, You Decide, it's quite happy, not much angst though, sorry its late
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 15:08:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5421608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OJared/pseuds/OJared
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean comes home after a fifteen month long deployment.  His daughter isn't so dependent and his son isn't so little.  Cas is exactly the same, though.</p><p>Or </p><p>The one where Dean does what Dean wants and not what Dean's supposed to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Day #12: You Know I'm Coming Home, Untangle The Lights and We'll Set Up The Christmas Tree

**Author's Note:**

> Title from [I'm Coming Home by Holly Maher](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h-xD2a65_s&list=PLAiUf-2fJaXHE1PliZREXZMzEr2f34qzt&index=42)
> 
>  
> 
> **PLEASE READ**
> 
>  
> 
> The link to the song above is only a cover but this whole one shot is based off of it and I really recommend that you listen to it. The lyrics are absolutely wonderful and it will definitely enhance the read by ten fold.

Dean remembers perfectly when he first thought of it.

 

He’d been sat on the big bay window sill in his and Castiel’s bedroom, watching down the street, in the little square, as a group of carollers sang in the background of the young woman, who’d moved in down the street a few months, running into her military boyfriend’s arms. Obviously not having seen each other for months. He’d wanted to clap, but soon remembered that nobody could see or hear him. It made him think about what soldiers do, about how he’d always wanted to join the army when he was a little kid and how Sammy, no matter how much he loved him, had gotten in the way of it.

 

It wasn’t a possibility, though. He had a four-year old autistic daughter and a husband that needed him.

 

It was another year later when he watched the same couple, Lauren and Chris, reunite in their snowy front garden. No carolers were in the background but the street was lit like a candle and the wind was blustering and lifting snow up in swirls. It was just as, if not more, magical and Dean had just blurted it out. Cas had looked up from his book and over his glasses with a raised eyebrow. He’d just said, “Okay.”

 

A week later and he was walking into a recruitment centre, wringing his hands nervously.

 

Two weeks after that and he was in Basic Training and he and Cas had started discussing having another baby. His life had been hectic, but eighteen months later and he had a bubbly baby boy and a sixteen month deployment lingering over him.

 

In the space of three and a half years, he went from watching Chris come home to Lauren to being the one who Lauren watched from her living room window, a tear of joy in one eye and one of sorrow in the other.

 

He got out of the taxi, the driver saluting and thanking him for his service, he didn’t think he deserved it.

 

He noticed Lauren in the window and gave her a little wave, she’d smiled and waved back as the front door opened and Leigh, dressed in a bright pink dressing gown and fluffy bunny slippers. She collided with him, screaming ‘Daddy!’ and his heart melted. Her warm arms were a relief in the warm air and the fact that she remembered him was even better. His melted heart froze and shattered in the instant when he saw his baby boy, who’d been just two months old the last time he saw him, come waddling forward with the same bunny slippers as Leigh and a look of confusion. He hadn’t expected the boy to recognise him but it still hurt.

 

Cas was waiting in the doorway, bare footed with some pajama pants and a fluffy, black jumper.

 

Dean didn’t want to startle Toby and so just put a hand on his back to guide him back to the house whilst clinging to Leigh with his free hand. 

 

When he reached the door he stared at Cas for a couple seconds. The man made no move to hug him and that hurt even more than Toby had. Suddenly, his mind was rushing with doubts.

 

Once inside, Leigh went to opening boxes of Christmas decorations that were strewn across the living room.

 

“Where’s Sam?” He asked, sitting down, breathing in thick, sticky tension as he did.

 

“Um, I told him you couldn’t make it for Christmas. He’s not going to be back until Christmas Eve and I didn’t want him to miss out on School. Stanford’s going so well for him and I thought maybe you’d like to surprise him too. If not, I could call him? You can speak to him and maybe he’ll be able to get here earlier than Christmas Eve. Or not, it’s up to you. Gabe’s doing good too, I told him you’d be here but he didn’t want to intrude. I told him it was no bother him being here, said you’d probably love it but he didn’t have any of it. He’s a good kid, isn’t he, considering his circumstances,” A small tear leaked from the corner of Cas’ eye and his breathing started getting erratic, “I mean, not to say that you aren’t good. Actually, Gabe really reminds me of you when we were that age. Except Luci isn’t anything like Sam and…” He took a breath and Dean expected him to continue but he didn’t so he just reached up and grabbed his hand and pulled him down to sit next to him.

 

Cas buried his head in Dean’s shoulder, leaning his whole weight on him. It caused Dean to topple over so they were laying down.

 

“It’s okay, it’s me. I’m here.” Dean whispered, his hand coming up to comb through Cas’ soft hair.

 

“I was so scared, Dean,” Cas sobbed, “I was so scared that you weren’t going to come home or that you were going to come back and be completely different.”

 

Dean had no idea what to do. He didn’t know if he was different, he didn’t want to be. He just wanted everything to be just the way it was before.

 

“And I didn’t even get you a Christmas present!” Cas cried, more whiny than upset, throwing his hand up from where it was picking at one of the buttons on Dean’s jacket and letting it hit back down.

 

“I don’t need a present, Cas. I’m home, that’s all that was on my Christmas list.”

 

-

 

Half an hour later and he’s sat on the floor in comfy, loose pajamas, setting up the Christmas tree whilst Cas untangles the lights. 

 

“It’s still wonky!” Cas shouts, exasperatedly, dropping the lights and giving up on them.

 

“Leigh ‘the wonky police’ Winchester, what are your thoughts? I’d say it’s perfectly straight.” Dean counters, stepping back and taking in the full-view of the beautiful and full tree.

 

Leigh takes a step back too, tilting her head and squinting in the exact same way that Cas does.

 

“It’s still wonky.” She confirms.

 

“Of course it’s wonky to you, your head’s sideways!” Dean shouts, throwing his hands up and collapsing on the couch, the same way Cas had done just seconds before. The monster of lights were still in his lap and they looked even more nightmarish than the tree.

 

“Decorating is always fun in theory.” Cas grumbles as Leigh tries to correct the tree on her own.

 

Dean had noticed that Leigh’s stutter had completely gone and she was no longer afraid of her little brother, but instead let him help when he came over and started pulling on a flimsy branch and pulled with all his might.

 

“In theory.” Dean sighs back, taking the lights off Cas’ lap and replaces them with his legs, starting to tug at the wires in an attempt to untangle them without breaking them.

 

A rapid knock sounded from the door and Cas didn’t miss the way that Dean jumped slightly, his breathing getting uneven.

 

He jumped up to get it, opening the door to Lauren stood with a tray in her hands.

 

“Hi, sorry to bother you. I know you probably don’t want any interruptions but I baked you some pie. It’s Pecan so I hope you like it, it’s just that, I used to make it for Chris when he came home and I couldn’t bear not to this year. Figured you could have it.” She got out, her breath misting in front of her shaky words.

 

“Um, thanks. Would you like to come in for a slice?” He asked, taking the foil covered pie from her.

 

She looked hesitant at first before nodding. Cas couldn’t even imagine how hard this time was for her.

 

Cas went to cut the pie whilst Lauren headed to the living room.

 

As he walked back in, a tray with a stack of plates and the sliced pie in his hands, Dean shouted, “Fuck Christmas lights and fuck straight trees. There ain’t nothing wrong with a bastard gay tree!”

 

Cas smiled at the fact that this didn’t phase Leigh but Lauren looked slightly worried when the lights collided sharply with the floor by the couch.

 

“Don’t swear, Daddy. Papa always tells Gabby off for swearing.” Leigh voices from where she’s sat, dejected looking by the tree.

 

Dean grumbled something incoherent but grinned at the sight of pie.

 

It was then that Cas realised that Dean was exactly the same as he had been almost a year and a half ago and it surprised him how much it didn’t shock him, how everything just slotted perfectly back into place.

Dean settled back into the couch when he heard it. It was faint, but he could hear the same carollers that were there every year. He knew the voices would get louder and louder, the closer they got but it made him realise that he was finally home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and I am so sorry that it is late!
> 
> Today's should be up shortly but I can't guarantee that it will be very long!
> 
> I've just been so busy. I had Christmas shopping to do yesterday and I've just had a lazy day today because I haven't been out in so long and it really messed me up.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you like this.
> 
> I'm a very manly man that definitely didn't nearly cry whilst writing it.


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